Foodbanks’ £66,000 pledge from Lancashire County Council

LANCASHIRE County Council is set to distribute £66,000 to local foodbanks as part of its Care and Urgent Needs Support Scheme (CaUNSS).

The fund provided crisis loans and community care grants which, until March last year, were administered by central government.

After they were scrapped, councils were allocated shares of £178.2 million-a-year to run local schemes, such as CaNUSS.

David Borrow, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “Because the purpose of the CaUNSS is to replace the elements of the Social Fund that provided for people in financial hardship, we began working with foodbanks last year.

“Many people find themselves unable to afford to eat and instead of getting a crisis loan, the way they would have done before, they are now often referred to a foodbank.

“At a meeting we decided to extend the support we offered last year to other foodbanks in the area. Nine applied for grants but we will continue to work with any others that come forward for help.”

Community Solutions North West, based in Burnley and Hyndburn, is to receive £35,000, Inspiring Grace in Burnley and Pendle £5,000, Oswaldtwistle Churches Together £2,000, The RAFT Foundation in Rossendale £2,000, Living Waters in Chorley £5,000, Digmoor Community Association in West Lancashire £10,000, and the Olive Branch in Lancaster £5,000. CaUNSS wants to avoid handing out cash wherever possible to individuals and so focuses its efforts on injecting cash into charities and enterprises that care for the community.